The River Valley Community Church is a
non-denominational congregation in Grants Pass, Oregon. The church welcomes
everyone to several services a week and offers several men’s, women’s and
children’s ministries, a day care center and volunteer opportunities.

The church hosts many functions, including fundraisers, dinners and ministry
events, so they kept a cash register on hand to collect payments. However, the
register was stationary and difficult to use for many of the church’s dedicated
volunteers, which led to mistakes that ultimately cost the congregation
important revenue.

In addition to being problematic for the church’s congregants, the bulky cash
register could not be moved around for church functions. Cash boxes were
employed at different locations throughout the River Valley campus to solve
this issue. Credit card processing was run separately, and the fees were costly
for the church.

“As River Valley began to host events more frequently, we had to start
exploring a better way to ring up sales,” stated Edward Durham, Director of
Technologies at River Valley Community Church. “We needed a flexible point of
sale system that could be moved around to accommodate different floor plans and
setups for various church functions. We also have a lot of volunteers who would
be using the system, so it had to be easy to learn and use. It was also
important to find a vendor that could offer lower cost credit card transaction
fees.”

The church selected Square’s free point of sale application, Square Register
and Square credit card reader, coupled with an Apple® iPad®. Square Register is
a full point of sale system that allows businesses to accept payments and track
inventory with a user-friendly, simple interface, smart analytics, continuous
updates and low processing fees. The new Square credit card reader is free and
attaches to iPhone®, iPad® and Android™ devices, allowing anyone to accept
credit cards anywhere, at anytime. The church also purchased a cash drawer,
Star Micronics' TSP143LAN printer and WiFi Power Pack.

“We placed a lot of emphasis on the word ‘easy,’” commented Mr. Durham. “So we
were happy when we opened the printer box and everything we needed was right
there in front of us.”
The printer included all of the software and parts—power
cable, LAN cable, mounting kit and receipt paper. The WiFi Power Pack is
designed to make any Star LAN interface printer “wireless” without a lot of
messy cables. Using the WiFi Power Pack, the printer is able to connect with
tablets, smart phones and other portable electronic wireless devices.

The church purchased iPads for use at church
functions and the feedback has been positive, says Mr. Durham. Volunteers
report that they find the new Square application easy to learn and use, they
require less technical support and overall, make fewer mistakes.

Since installing the new system, the church has
seen a rise in sales from fundraising events, which will allow them to expand
their programs and enhance operations. The new system also does not charge
monthly credit card processing fees, which is also making a positive impact on
the Ministry’s bottom line.

“The Square bundle, Star Micronics' printer and
WiFi Power Pack makes it simple to set up and use anywhere a function is being
held,” said Mr. Durham. “We’ve got more volunteers who are willing to work the
register at our events now that it’s easy to collect payments. We’re thrilled
with the final result, which has allowed us to spend less time worrying about
our register and more time focused on enhancing our community.”